India: Supreme Court Strikes Down Sodomy Law

Upholds Rights to Privacy, Non-discrimination for LGBT People

(London, September 6, 2018)— India’s landmark Supreme Court decision that criminalizing consensual same-sex conduct is unconstitutional is a major victory for human rights and the LGBT people’s rights to privacy and non-discrimination in the world’s second most populous country, Human Rights Watch said today.The decision on September 6, 2018 strikes down language in Section 377 of India’s Penal Code, a relic of British colonial rule that punishes “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” with 10 years to life in prison.“The Supreme Court decision means that at long last same-sex relations are no longer a criminal offense in India,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The court has affirmed that no one should be discriminated against for whom they love or what they do in the privacy of their bedroom.”Read more: https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/09/06/india-supreme-court-strikes-down-sodomy-law